The Next Four Years

Congratulations to
President Obama. With Mitt Romney's idea that "free" trade
would bring peace to the Middle East, and nations in Africa and South
America could do better if we shipped them American jobs with even
more "free" trade agreements, it is clear that neither Romney nor
President Obama, who passed three new "free" trade agreements
last year, were good options for the United States. However,
President Obama has won his second term and now citizens must appeal to him once again to make the right choices in leading this
nation.

President Obama's
second-term win means that America will not fall quickly into
economic collapse. However, if the president keeps going in the
direction he has been leading the country during his first term,
things are not likely to get much better for Main Street either.

The "recovery"
America has seen thus far has been one for Wall Street. Their
gambling days are looking ever brighter. But the same cannot be said
for Main Street. With the majority of jobs in the "recovery"
coming from companies like WalMart and McDonald's, the middle class
is not getting any better -- at least not to the extent seen on Wall
Street.

There are a few simple things President Obama can
do to truly turn this nation around:

Get out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership
(TPP) negotiations.

The TPP is shaping up to become a mega-NAFTA -- a
job-killing powerhouse of economic destruction. The last thing
America needs right now is to end enterprise. The proposed TPP will
ship more American jobs overseas, it will stifle internet freedoms, and it will take control of banking out of America's hands.

America needs fair trade agreements with
individual nations, not "free" trade blocks that have proven in
the past to be economy killers in the U.S.

Get the Untied States out of the World Trade
Organization (WTO).

This is a simple process. All President Obama
needs to do is write a letter to the WTO and Congress and we would be
out in as little as six months. The WTO settles trade disputes
between nations. It is a slow process that normally ends up with
outcomes that favor foreign nations. We have had to change our laws
to accommodate the will of the WTO. Our Founding Fathers fought a war
to keep foreign influence out of our government. We would be able to
make better economic decisions if we could act on our own.

Get the United States out of NAFTA.

Again, this would only take a letter from
President Obama, and we would be free to begin negotiations with
Mexico and Canada for new fair-trade agreements with both nations. We
could be out in as little as six months. Auto companies can build
cars in Mexico for as little as $4.25 an hour and ship them here with
no penalties. Compare this with the $16-$20 an hour wages here in the
U.S., coupled with health insurance, sick and vacation days,
environmental standards, etc., and it is clear that American workers
just cannot compete with their Mexican counterparts. There is no
reason for America to move backwards; we must remove ourselves from
NAFTA so we may begin moving forward once more.

This will take more time, but the outcome will be
better for the United States. Our trade deficit with South Korea has
gone up every month in comparison to the previous year since our
"free" trade agreement with them took effect last March. This is
just one example. A trade deficit is not just money leaving the
country; it is American jobs leaving as well.

Replace
"Obamacare."

Yes, Democrats fought
hard for their version of Republican healthcare reform, and it is a
good start. However, healthcare cost will continue to rise without a
public option. Not having a public-health provider hurts America's
few actual job creators--the businesses and small businesses that
employ tens of millions here in this country. It will also
inevitably hurt all Americans if the government cannot negotiate with
pharmaceutical companies to keep costs down.

E. David Ferriman is the Director of Digital Communications for Economy In Crisis. A graduate of Franklin University with a degree in Digital Communications, David is a Web designer. David lives in Ohio (USA) with his wife and their children (more...)